Attention all Rev fliers!
We're going to make an IKE team of Revolution fliers.
The team will be anywhere from 2 to 20 fliers.

A goal will be for us to be flying well as a group to make our debut at the Pontiac Festival (August 25th).
After Pontiac, we have the Mots festival with iQuad.
Then DeKalb.
And we end the season at Montrose.

Basically it gives us about two months to get ready.

Here's the plan:
Anyone who is interested should start practicing the skills listed below. Individual practice is important because we wont be able to practice as a team very often.

On July [strike]21 or[/strike] 22 (weather permitting) we will meet, probably in the Kankakee area. We will fly together for a couple hours in the morning and then break for lunch. During lunch we will talk over our strengths and weaknesses and who feels ready to fly on the team. I'm not looking for expert fliers, just folks who don't crash into the other fliers After lunch, the 2 to 20 people who will be flying as a team will practice together. The folks who aren't quite ready yet will practice together to improve their skills and maybe they will join in flying with the team at DeKalb or Montrose or next year.

The way I'm envisioning the team is that we will be flexible in our routines so that we can fly with any number of fliers. Since not all members of the team will always be at every festival, we have to be able to adjust.

Before the Pontiac festival, the team will probably need to practice together 2 more times. At least once more. Practice locations will depend on who is on the team--we'll pick a place most convenient for everyone.

*A Rev 1.5, ideally a vented and a standard. If you don't have them yet, I have a couple extra kites I can loan out during team flies.

*90# x 120' lines. I have a couple extra sets to loan out during team flies, but it's best to practice on these. Chicago Kite has some 120' linesets in stock.

Then this is what you need to be able to do:

*Laugh. A sense of humor about the whole thing is really important. This is supposed to be fun.

*Hold a position in the sky, in any orientation. This is a must. A little wobble is normal, but you can't wobble so much that you'd hit your neighbor.
Should be able to hold it right side up (you may need to slide your hands up the handle, even above the grips. in light winds)
Should be able to hold it upside down (you may need to slide your hands down the handle)
Also hold it at the 45Â° angle positions, upside down and right side up.

*Turn 180Â° without dropping down. Practice the 180's both by turning down and by turning up. (If the kite is facing right, doing a clockwise 180 is turning down, counter-clockwise is turning up)

*Flying backwards. Straight and in an arc. Look at the pinwheel diagram in the manual. Some fliers are reverse flying in an arc. Look the ball/burst diagram, everyone flies in reverse in a straight line.

*Tip pivots. They aren't actual tip pivots, but close. A tip pivot is when you rotate the kite around a wingtip. Look at the Benefits and Blender diagrams. In the Blender, the tip pivot is when you change with your partner in step 2.

*Speed control. We need to keep even spacing between the kites when following each other around the sky and that's done by matching our flying speed. In some moves we fly in columns; this also requires matching speeds.

and finally, it would help to learn the names of the moves in the manual.

------
Feel free to post questions. Ask for help with problems you're having learning a move, understanding what I just said, practice suggestions, etc.

stevebell wrote:I REALLY want to do this kind of thing, but I only have my lowly EXP. I will be getting some 120' lines soon. I'll keep on practicing, and we'll see.

(If I can keep up with you guys on my EXP, I might even fit in if I get a 1.5 or an SUL!!!)

Steve

There is nothing wrong with flying an EXP. My first kite in 2001 was an EXP. I still fly that kite nearly every day. I have replaced two complete panels, a couple of leading edges, bungis, one cap, the bridle and lots of leading edge screen, but that EXP keeps on flying, and very well.

My wife also flys an EXP. We have four EXPs, three 1.5s, a Rev I and two vented 1.5s. The first kites out of the bag are always the EXPs.

Steve... think about vented... I think your EXP will be fine for most flying conditions but when the winds pick up, you will have to have a vented in order to maintain the control needed to fly in formation.

Tom chose this place for our winter fly, and these are his directions:

It's at the corner of Bethel Dr. and Career Center Rd. in Bourbonnais.

It is not far from Perry Farm. Take Interstate 57 to Bourbonnais to Rt. 50; go south on Rt.50 to the first big set of lights (big intersection) and go west on Armour Rd. Keep going west past a stop sign and a small set of lights or two and get to the first big intersection (which is North Convent St. or also called Routes 45/52)... turn right (north) on N. Convent (there's a gas station on your left as you are about to turn right onto Convent, by the way); go a few blocks north (there will, to your right, be a small field and suddenly a road going to a small set of stores)... directly opposite of that (as you are going north on Convent) is Bethel Dr. (to your left); take Bethel Dr. west, going past a couple of stop signs. Then, as you continue to go west on Bethel... look for the soccer fields on your left, before you get to Career Center Rd.

Tom chose this place for our winter fly, and these are his directions:

It's at the corner of Bethel Dr. and Career Center Rd. in Bourbonnais.

It is not far from Perry Farm. Take Interstate 57 to Bourbonnais to Rt. 50; go south on Rt.50 to the first big set of lights (big intersection) and go west on Armour Rd. Keep going west past a stop sign and a small set of lights or two and get to the first big intersection (which is North Convent St. or also called Routes 45/52)... turn right (north) on N. Convent (there's a gas station on your left as you are about to turn right onto Convent, by the way); go a few blocks north (there will, to your right, be a small field and suddenly a road going to a small set of stores)... directly opposite of that (as you are going north on Convent) is Bethel Dr. (to your left); take Bethel Dr. west, going past a couple of stop signs. Then, as you continue to go west on Bethel... look for the soccer fields on your left, before you get to Career Center Rd.

i was looking for the posting on this... and it took a while to find it; maybe it should be re-posted in the Club Fly section or something!

What about soccer players? They go there a lot in warmer weather (even early)! Other possibilities would be the Pontiac Rec-Plex or the Hawkins Park area on the west side of Kankakee in Limestone (both are without soccer fields and both have no big trees, are huge, etc.)
Then again, if we get kicked out by soccer players (in Bourbonnais), there is a nice field north of there that is pretty open, and it's rather nice... though i haven't seen it for some time.

Tom P.
Illinois_______ (excerpt from E. E. Cummings: "How many winds make wonderful... and is luck The skeleton of life")

I think there's enough room there even if there are soccer players.
Anyone can give me a call on the day of fly if they are concerned about wind or location.
If you don't have my cell phone number, PM me.

Mike wrote:I think there's enough room there even if there are soccer players.Anyone can give me a call on the day of fly if they are concerned about wind or location.If you don't have my cell phone number, PM me.

It will probably be OK ... but i have seen every section of that whole complex packed with soccer players!

i had the Vented out today; it was quite windy... especially later on!

Tom P.

Illinois_______ (excerpt from E. E. Cummings: "How many winds make wonderful... and is luck The skeleton of life")